Nach dem Masern-Virus haben Forscher etwas anderes im Visier gegen Krebs: Toxoplasma gondii.
Toxoplasma gondii ist alles andere als ungefährlich: es greift das Gehirn an, es bewirkt Depression und kann Menschen in den Selbstmord treiben.
Zitat aus einer Pressemeldung von heute:
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Your Cat's Poop Could One Day Treat CancerBy Bahar Gholipour, Staff Writer | July 23, 2014 10:59am ET
A microscopic organism that lives in cat poop could one day be used as a cancer treatment, researchers say.
Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that lives in cats' intestines, but can infect other animals and people as well. Although infections with the Toxoplasma parasite are common among people, very few people show symptoms because their immune system attacks and keeps the parasite from causing illness.
Now, researchers are aiming to harness the immune response triggered by the parasite and direct it to attacking tumors. Although the Toxoplasma parasite is hardly the only microbe studied in the hot field of cancer immunotherapy, it may have some unique abilities, the researchers said.
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Ich halte Toxoplasma gondii für sehr gefährlich. Wenn auf der anderen Seite jedoch der Tod durch Krebs droht,,...
Die Forschung ist noch sehr mörderisch und kostet noch viele Mäuse das Leben:
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"In an aggressive ovarian cancer, we found similar positive results, but when we treat a really aggressive ovarian cancer — [that is], the most aggressive ovarian cancer model that's out there for mice — we get extended survival, but
all the mice eventually succumb to tumors," Bzik said. Still, the researchers could keep the mice alive for a very long time by treating them every two weeks, he said.
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mehr:
http://www.livescience.com/46953-cat-poop-cancer-treatments.html?cmpid=550995http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23928100[*QUOTE*]
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Trends Parasitol. 2013 Sep;29(9):431-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2013.07.001. Epub 2013 Aug 5.
Targeting tumors with nonreplicating Toxoplasma gondii uracil auxotroph vaccines.Fox BA1, Sanders KL, Chen S, Bzik DJ.
Author information
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.
AbstractToxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that has evolved to actively control its invaded host cells. Toxoplasma triggers then actively regulates host innate interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) responses that elicit T cell control of infection. A live, nonreplicating avirulent uracil auxotroph vaccine strain (cps) of Toxoplasma triggers novel innate immune responses that stimulate amplified CD8(+) T cell responses and life-long immunity in vaccinated mice. Here, we review recent reports showing that intratumoral treatment with cps activated immune-mediated regression of established solid tumors in mice. We speculate that a better understanding of host-parasite interaction at the molecular level and applying improved genetic models based on Δku80 Toxoplasma strains will stimulate development of highly effective immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine strategies using engineered uracil auxotrophs.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
CD8(+) T cells; IL-12p70; Toxoplasma gondii; avirulent uracil auxotrophs; immunotherapy; tumor regression
PMID:
23928100
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID:
PMC3777737
[Available on 2014/9/1]
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Ein Blick auf die Universität und einen der beteiligten Forscher dort:
http://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/faculty/facultydb/view.php?uid=129[*QUOTE*]
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David J. Bzik, Ph.D.
Title(s):
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Department(s):
Microbiology and Immunology
Education:
Pennsylvania State University, PHD 1983
Pennsylvania State University, MS 1980
Lehigh University, BA 1977
Dr. Bzik received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Lehigh University in 1977, and his Ph.D. degree in Biophysics from the Pennsylvania State University in 1983. After postdoctoral work as a European Molecular Biology Organization long-term fellow at the MRC Virology Unit at Glasgow University, Dr. Bzik joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology at Dartmouth Medical School in 1988.
Programs:
Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Programs
Websites:
http://dms.dartmouth.edu/microbio/http://dms.dartmouth.edu/immuno/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mcb/Contact Information:
Dartmouth Medical School
Borwell Research Bldg. HB 7556
1 Medical Center Drive
Lebanon NH 03756
Phone: 603-650-7951
Fax: 603-650-6223
Email: David.J.Bzik@Dartmouth.EDU
Professional Interests:
GENETIC ANALYSIS OF HOST-PARASITE INTERACTIONS
Our major research interests involve the molecular mechanisms of parasite pathogenesis. We focus on the protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum. These apicomplexan parasites represent a paradigm of obligate intracellular infectious disease agents. Plasmodium falciparum causes a devastating form of human malaria which infects vast numbers of people and causes significant morbidity (adults and children) and mortality (mainly children). Toxoplasma gondii infection causes severe congenital defects in infants and death in HIV/AIDS patients. Current research projects include the following: developmental regulation of parasite virulence factors; identification of new parasite virulence determinants; development of new tools to facilitate genetic analysis of parasite pathogens; mechanisms, regulation and drug discovery in pyrimidine and purine acquisition pathways; design of vaccine components based on secreted antigens; novel parasite enzymes: mechanisms, regulation and drug discovery; creation and evaluation of live attenuated parasite vaccines; taming and targeting parasites for cancer gene therapy. Visit the Molecular Pathogenesis Website.
Selected Publications:
Tomita T, Bzik DJ, Ma YF, Fox BA, Markillie LM, Taylor RC, Kim K, Weiss LM
The Toxoplasma gondii cyst wall protein CST1 is critical for cyst wall integrity and promotes bradyzoite persistence.
PLoS Pathog 2013 Dec; 9(12):e1003823
PMID: 24385904
Fox BA, Sanders KL, Bzik DJ
Non-replicating Toxoplasma gondii reverses tumor-associated immunosuppression.
Oncoimmunology 2013 Nov 1; 2(11):e26296
PMID: 24353916
Patil V, Zhao Y, Shah S, Fox BA, Rommereim LM, Bzik DJ, Yap GS
Co-existence of classical and alternative activation programs in macrophages responding to Toxoplasma gondii.
Int J Parasitol 2014 Feb; 44(2):161-4
PMID: 24083945
Fox BA, Sanders KL, Chen S, Bzik DJ
Targeting tumors with nonreplicating Toxoplasma gondii uracil auxotroph vaccines.
Trends Parasitol 2013 Sep; 29(9):431-7
PMID: 23928100
Rommereim LM, Hortua Triana MA, Falla A, Sanders KL, Guevara RB, Bzik DJ, Fox BA
Genetic manipulation in Δku80 strains for functional genomic analysis of Toxoplasma gondii.
J Vis Exp 2013 Jul 12; (77):e50598
PMID: 23892917
Baird JR, Fox BA, Sanders KL, Lizotte PH, Cubillos-Ruiz JR, Scarlett UK, Rutkowski MR, Conejo-Garcia JR, Fiering S, Bzik DJ
Avirulent Toxoplasma gondii generates therapeutic antitumor immunity by reversing immunosuppression in the ovarian cancer microenvironment.
Cancer Res 2013 Jul 1; 73(13):3842-51
PMID: 23704211
Baird JR, Byrne KT, Lizotte PH, Toraya-Brown S, Scarlett UK, Alexander MP, Sheen MR, Fox BA, Bzik DJ, Bosenberg M, Mullins DW, Turk MJ, Fiering S
Immune-mediated regression of established B16F10 melanoma by intratumoral injection of attenuated Toxoplasma gondii protects against rechallenge.
J Immunol 2013 Jan 1; 190(1):469-78
PMID: 23225891
Fox BA, Falla A, Rommereim LM, Tomita T, Gigley JP, Mercier C, Cesbron-Delauw MF, Weiss LM, Bzik DJ
Type II Toxoplasma gondii KU80 knockout strains enable functional analysis of genes required for cyst development and latent infection.
Eukaryot Cell 2011 Sep; 10(9):1193-206
PMID: 21531875
Fox BA, Bzik DJ
Avirulent uracil auxotrophs based on disruption of orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase elicit protective immunity to Toxoplasma gondii.
Infect Immun 2010 Sep; 78(9):3744-52
PMID: 20605980
Gigley JP, Fox BA, Bzik DJ
Long-term immunity to lethal acute or chronic type II Toxoplasma gondii infection is effectively induced in genetically susceptible C57BL/6 mice by immunization with an attenuated type I vaccine strain.
Infect Immun 2009 Dec; 77(12):5380-8
PMID: 19797073
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